Magnetic cells key to animal migration [View all]

[n2doc]

By Jon Bardin, Los Angeles Times
July 13, 2012, 7:18 p.m.
Animal migration is one of the great wonders of the natural world. Monarch butterflies, Arctic terns and humpback whales, among other species, travel thousands of miles to escape harsh seasonal weather and find more hospitable climes, like New Yorkers who high-tail it for Florida when the first snowflake drops.

But, unlike humans, animal species don't have airlines and highways to guide them. How do they make their amazing journeys?

With the help of magnets, according to new research.

An international team of scientists identified cellular machinery in migratory trout that allows them to detect and respond to the Earth's magnetic field. The ability explains how animals are able to maintain their long-distance pilgrimages even after human activity changes the visual layout of the migratory path.


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http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-magnetic-sensing-cells-20120714,0,3912716.story